Last week, House Bill 5064 was assigned to the House Committee on Judiciary and will likely be up for a vote in the near future. HB 5064, authored by state Representative Paul Opsommer (R-93), would provide protections for law-abiding gun owners to legally store firearms in their locked vehicles while parked at their place of employment.

On Sept. 29, a federal judge in the Northern District of Texas decided in favor of the federal government in a case brought by the NRA challenging the federal restriction on the purchase of handguns by 18-20 year old adults. The case is far from over, as the NRA has already filed an appeal.

In the case, Jennings v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the NRA and a group of responsible young adults argued that since 18-20 year olds are considered adults for virtually every other purpose, such as voting and military service, adults in this age group should also be able to purchase handguns from licensed dealers. Read more

During Senate consideration of the FY 2012 Commerce, Justice and Science appropriations bill, Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) plans to offer an amendment that would prohibit use of funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting plan proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The Heller amendment would prevent ATF from circumventing the will of Congress by centralizing records of thousands of Americans’ firearm purchases, without any legal authority. Read more

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled that Americans have a right to possess arms in the home for self defense – a ruling that prevents government from enacting overly restrictive gun-control regulations. In 2010, the court announced that Second Amendment rights apply not only in federal jurisdictions but throughout the country in state and local jurisdictions as well.

It seems that it would be a simple edict to follow except the language “overly restrictive gun-control regulations”. Tis the fly in the ointment and politicians such as Governor Brown of California will test the law’s intent with their version of “reasonable” laws, as if just one more law will do the trick.

But, the rush is on in California – the rush to mass exodus, that is. Last week, gun legislation signed into law by Governor Brown signals the floodgates to open even wider, as sportsmen’s voices were ignored.

Liberalism was on display, as California bucked the national trend to loosen gun ownership restrictions by requiring the preservation of records for long guns sold or transferred after January 1, 2014 with the passage of AB 809. The measure was cheered by Dallas Stout, President of the California Brady Campaign Chapters who said, “The Governor has shown common sense and real courage…”

But, it is this type of “intellect” that has created a budget deficit as much as $28 billion this year Read more

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security held a hearing on H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.

The bill, introduced earlier this year by Congressmen Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) and cosponsored by more than 240 of their colleagues, would enable millions of permit holders to exercise their right to self-defense while traveling outside their home states. Read more